WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- People with epilepsy are
up to three times more likely to die if they fail to take their
seizure medication regularly, according to a new study.
The study also found that these people -- who missed taking
their epilepsy medication more than two out of every 10 occasions
over a three-month period -- had an 86 percent increase in hospital
visits and a 50 percent jump in emergency room visits, compared
with people who took their medication regularly during that
time.
A significantly higher incidence of car accidents and bone
breaks were also common among those who failed to take their
medicine regularly, the researchers found.
The findings, published in the June 18 online issue of
Neurology, are based on analysis of insurance records of
almost 34,000 people with epilepsy, collected in three U.S. state
Medicaid programs over eight and a half years.
"These results are concerning since some studies show about 30
to 50 percent of people with epilepsy do not take their medication
regularly," study author Dr. Edward Faught, director of the
University of Alabama Epilepsy Center in Birmingham, said in a
prepared statement.
"There are many reasons epileptic patients fail to take their
seizure medications, including cost, side effects and pregnancy.
But this study suggests that none of those reasons overshadow the
threat of death or other problems related to uncontrolled seizures.
Patients need to stay on their medications, and physicians need to
recognize and treat issues related to people failing to take
epilepsy drugs," he said.
More information
The Epilepsy Foundation has more about
epilepsy.
